Unexpected Visitor
by ArtsyNinja3
Summary: A friend of the Santiago twins decided to crash at the House of Pirates for a couple of days. This girl also happens to catch a certain curly-haired kid's eye. No good with summaries. Sorry. MoosexOC
1. Please Don't Stop the Music

**Me:** Hey people! Let me just say that this is my first time writing a Step Up fanfiction so please don't be harsh. Well, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

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**Narrator's P.O.V.**

It was like every other day in the House of Pirates. People dancing, laughing, fooling around. That was, until the Santiago twins got a call.

"Hello? Yes, yes, this is the Santiago twins. Who's this? Mel? Is that you? How've you been doing Lil' M?"

"Did you just say 'lil' M'? Hand me the phone!" The brothers started arguing about who should have the phone. Every Pirate had stopped what they were doing and watched as the twins fight for the phone.

"You know what? I'll just go see you guys now. Give me the address," the person on the other line spoke after a while of being passed around. The twins happily told the person the address and hung up.

"Um...so...are you gonna tell us what all that was about?" Luke asked while raising an eyebrow with his arm around Natalie's waist.

"Well...we have a friend..." one of them started.

"That's gonna be here any second!" the other finished. Right after he said that, the brothers bolted right out of the warehouse. The rest of the Pirates stared at their friends. Then, after five seconds, they heard laughter and footsteps. Curiously, they waited for the Santiago twins to come back into the house. They came back as expected, but what was unexpected was that they brought back a tall, slim brunette. She had curly hair that came all the way down to her waist. The girl had large, brown eyes that seemed to be sparkling with amusement and wonder. She was wearing a white tank top with shorts that look like they were cut from jeans and purple headphones dangling from her neck. The newcomer had a bag that was slung over her shoulder and wore a bright smile. The girl definitely caught all the Pirates' attention. Especially a certain curly-haired kid.

"Everyone, we'd like you to meet our friend, Mel!" the twins said excitedly.

"Hi! The name's Melody but you can call me 'Mel' or my stage name 'Lil' M'," The brunette said with a grin.

"Hey! Name's Luke, leader of the Pirates. This is Natalie, my girlfriend. Welcome to our place," Luke said with a smile.

"Nice to meet 'cha" Natalie said while shaking her hand. "So, do you dance?"

Mel shook her head. "I dance, but I'm not good like the Santiago twins. Those guys got some sick moves."

"What she means is, she's a DJ," the twins interrupted as they each threw an arm around the girl.

"I'm not that good at that either," Mel said with a laugh.

"Are you deaf?! You got the sickest beats ever!" The girl blushed and punched the twins in the arm.

"Hey, I'm Robert Alexander the Third, but you can call me 'Moose'," the curly-haired kid said with a grin. The new girl raised her eyebrow at him, but decided not to question. Moose held out his fist so Mel fist bumped him, like anything other person would do. "No, no, you do it like this. Come on, blow it up!" Mel looked at him while he showed her how it works. The twins introduced everyone in the crew to the brunette in a matter of seconds.

"So how old are you?" Jacob asked.

"Twenty-one. Why?"

"No reason. Then that makes you the youngest of us all."

"Really? You guys that old?" Mel blurted out but then used her hand to cover her mouth. "No offense," she added quickly. The crew laughed and brushed it off. "Um...let me just say this beforehand. I have a bad memory so please don't take it personally if I get your name wrong," she said sheepishly. The crew burst out in laughter before going back to what they were doing, leaving Moose and the Santiago twins to show her around. That was, until the Santiago twins remembered they had things to do. "Oh, so now you have more important things than lil' ole me? Well fine! I'll just have Moose to show me around," Mel said with a huff and linked arms with Moose, who was looking at her in amusement.

"Oh come on! You know that's not the case!"

"Oh señorita please don't ignore us!"

Mel let out a grin and ruffled their hair. "I'm just messing' with ya! Now go do whatever you guys have to do. I'll be fine with Moose, as long as he doesn't rape me. You're not a rapist are you?" She asked while Moose feigned horror.

"Of course not! I can't believe you would even think that! I'm hurt!" Moose mocked while putting a hand over his heart.

Mel laughed, "I like you. I think we'll be great friends!"

"Well I like you too! Come on, I'll show you around!"

"About time! Let's get going!" Moose showed her around basically every room in the warehouse except for one.

"Now this is, what I think, the most awesomest room in this whole house!" Moose exclaimed.

"I beg to differ. I'm pretty sure the stereo room is the coolest room."

"Yeah, no. This room is definitely better. Now close your eyes." Mel raised an eyebrow at him. "You really like doing that right?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Mel asked innocently.

"Whatever just close your eyes. I promise I won't let you bump into anything." Mel sighed and closed her eyes while Moose guided her, right into a wall. "Starting now," he quickly added as he covered her eyes from behind and led her into a room before she had the chance to punch him in the gut. He let go of his hands, "You can open your eyes now."

Mel opened her eyes and saw tons and tons of shoes. All placed nicely on shelves. "Holy shit this is amazing!" she yelled with excitement as she looked at the shoes. She picked one particular one and stares at it in wonder. That was, until Moose snatched it away.

He shakes his finger at her, "In this house, you have to earn your shoes."

"Are you going around copying me?" a voice piped up from behind him. Mel looked over his shoulder to see Luke leaning on one of the pillars with a smirk.

"Hey Luke! Can you get me a better tour guide? This one just walked me straight into a wall."

Luke laughed as he walked towards them. "And I thought you could do better than last time," he joked while Moose shot him a playful glare.

"Oh shut up. Like you can do better than this!" Moose said cockily as he gestured to himself.

"Oh, but I can," Luke countered. "Owned!"

Mel giggled at the sight of the two. "You guys are really good friends right?"

"Nope!" Luke said and Mel raised an eyebrow.

"We're best buddies!" Moose exclaimed like a kid and gave Luke a giant bear hug. Luke and Mel just laughed at his childish actions. Suddenly, a loud boom was heard from the floor below them.

"Uh...what was that?" Mel asked warily.

"Oh that? Just the club. Happens every time," Luke explained.

"You turned this warehouse into a club?!"

"Yeah..."

"That's awesome! I wanna go downstairs!" Mel said excitedly. Moose and Luke led her down to the club that was crowded with people. The music was booming loudly and people covered the dance floor.

_Please don't stop the music, music, music, music, music._

_Please don't stop the music, music, music, music, music._

_Please don't stop the music, music, music, music, music._

_Please don't stop the music, music, music, music, music._

"Man, this is so cool!" Mel screamed over the music while the two boys smiled at her. She immediately recognized the song and started singing and dancing to it. Moose grinned at her and pulled her to the dance floor.

_It's getting late. _

_I'm making my way over to my favorite place. _

_I gotta get my body moving,_

_Shake the stress away. _

_I wasn't looking for nobody when you looked my way. _

_Possible candidate, yeah. _

_Who would knew that you'd be up in here looking like you do. _

_You makin' staying over here impossible. _

_Baby, Imma say your aura is incredible. _

_If you don't have to go, don't_.

Moose turned her around to face him and stood there as if waiting for something to happen. Mel raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't tell me you don't know how this works," Moose said.

"Enlighten me."

"You get a hot girl and get her to dance around you to make you look cool," he explained.

"Oh. So I'm supposed to make you look cool now?" she asked as she threw her arms around his neck. Moose nodded with a grin, happy that she gets what he said. Mel started walking around him with a smirk and one hand on his neck. People around them started to give them some space.

_Do you know what just started?_

_I just came here to party,_

_But now we're rockin on the dance floor actin' naughty._

_Your hands around my waist._

_Just let the music play._

_We're hand in hand, chest to chest, and now we're face to face._

Then, Mel turned around so her back was leaning on Moose's chest and started to shake her hips to the music with a seductive smile on her face. She placed a hand on Moose's head to keep him in place while the other moved his hands so that they were on her hips.

_I wanna take you away._

_Let's escape into the music, DJ let it play._

_I just can't refuse it._

_Like the way you do this._

_Keep on rockin' to it._

_Please don't stop the, please don't stop the music. _

Moose drew her closer with a grin as Mel looked up at his face. Their faces were so near that their lips were almost touching as they swayed to the music.

_I wanna take you away._

_Let's escape into the music, DJ let it play._

_I just can't refuse it._

_Like the way you do this._

_Keep on rockin' to it._

_Please don't stop the, please don't stop the music. _

Just when Moose was about to capture her lips, he was stopped by Mel as she distanced herself from him, leaving him hanging with a disappointed look.

"You really didn't think I'd let you get me that easily right?" she said with a smirk before disappearing into the crowd. Moose wore a pout as he watched her slip into the crowd and out of his sight.

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**Me:** Please please please please tell me what you think! Review!

Song used: Please Don't Stop the Music by Rihanna


	2. Someone from the past

**Me:** Hey! I'm so sorry for the late update but I've been pretty busy this month. Please forgive me! I'll try harder to get update it faster. Well, here's chapter 2!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for my own characters and the plot.

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**Narrator's P.O.V.**

After leaving Moose by himself on the dance floor, Melody continued to explore the club. She walked around without really knowing where she was going and found the bar. She ordered a martini and drank it by herself while watching people have fun on the dance floor. She smirked to herself when she found Moose making his way towards her. Mel quickly slipped out of Moose's sight and finally found the exit to the club. She looked around the club one last time before heading upstairs. Or at least that was what she planned. Melody looked around and saw someone she did not expect to meet at all: someone from her past.

Her jaw dropped and she quickly ran upstairs without a second thought. She sat down onto the sofa and put her head in her hands. "This can't be happening, He's back," she mumbled to herself. The twins were back and saw her on the sofa. They were going to chat with her, until they saw her trembling. They quickly sat down on each side of her and held onto her hands. Melody, on the other hand, stared off into space.

"Mel? You ok?" one of them asked. They got no answer. The rest of the Pirates were slowly gathering around the frightened girl.

The pale girl gave no notice to them and just chanted "He's back" over and over again, as if convincing herself that the said person was back for real.

"What's happening to her?" Natalie asked the twins while waving a hand in front of Melody's face. The girl did not blink and kept chanting.

"We don't know," the twins said worriedly. It was the first time they saw Mel like this.

"Pinch me," she suddenly said. The Santiago twins looked at the Pirates for help. All they did was nod. The twins did what they were told and pinched the girl. Melody flinched before looking like she just saw a ghost. "It's not a dream," she mumbled to herself, wide-eyed.

"Melody, please tell us what happened," Moose said as he started to get worried and kneeled down in front of the girl.

Melody ignored him and grasped onto the twins' hands. She stared at one of them, shocked. "He's back, guys. He's back." It took a few minutes before the twins realized what she meant.

"Uh-oh."

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**Melody's P.O.V.**

The next morning I was still trembling after I calmed down a bit. The night before, the twins never left my side and said comforting words in my ear, like "it's going to be alright" or "we'll never let him get to you". What I was worried about was, what was he doing here? Did he come here to get me? I decided to clear my mind by dancing and headed to the speaker room. I plugged my iPod in and put it on shuffle. Instantly, an upbeat song came booming from the wall of speakers.

_2-step, 2-step, 2-step.  
__2-step, 2-step, 2-step._

I walked to the center of the room and stretched a bit before I decided I was all warmed up.

_Bright lights, TV screen,  
__Feels like looking in a magazine.  
__You heard, on the floor,  
__Feels like dancing is the way to go._

I started out easy and was just popping and locking all over the place.

_But if you let her see that fancy footwork,  
__Ahhh, show her that you're not that shy  
.__Let her see that fancy footwork,  
__Ahhh, show her you're that type of guy._

Then, I started doing glides and just lost hold of myself. (Something like this but more professional I guess? These guys are great though but I couldn't find one that was more professional. Sorry. watch?v=hNc-4I367Xo&feature=related)

_2-step, 2-step, 2-step.  
__2-step, 2-step, 2-step._

_Young boy, don't be late.  
__This girl ain't really got time to wait.  
__You think it's all for show,  
B__ut this is just the only way I know._

_Why is he here in New York?_ I thought to myself as I stopped dancing. I didn't bother turning off the music. I put my head in my hands as I tried to catch my breath. "Shit, I'm gonna have to start training again," I muttered to myself as I started to stretch again.

_But if you let her see that fancy footwork,  
Ahhh, show her that you're not that shy.  
Let her see that fancy footwork,  
Ahhh, show her you're that type of guy._

**Moose's P.O.V.**

I woke up to the sound of music bouncing off the walls. Curious, I stretched and got up from my bed. I ruffled my hair, rubbed my eyes and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. After I got out of the bathroom, I walked downstairs to see who was practicing. I strolled into the speaker room to see a beautiful brunette dancing under the sunlight that was streaming down from a high window. The sunlight made her hair seem hazel and gold as she stretched her muscles as the music continued playing.

_Hey, if you ever need a guy,_  
_A partner for a week._  
_You point in my direction,_  
_And just come and follow me._  
_We'll meet up on the floor,_  
_And maybe do the twirk._  
_So show me what you got_  
_in terms of_  
_Fancy footwork-work-work._  
_F-f-fancy footw-w-work-work._  
_F-f-fancy footwork-work._  
_F-f-fancy footw-w-work-work._  
_F-f-fancy footwork-work._  
_F-f-fancy footw-w-work-work._  
_F-f-fancy footwork-work._  
_F-f-fancy footw-w-work-work._

I decided to sit down and watch her silently. God, I sounded like a stalker.

_2-step, 2-step, 2-step.  
__2-step, 2-step, 2-step._

The song soon ended. Melody didn't even bother getting up to choose the song. Another song started playing in a matter of seconds.

_I fought it for a long time now,  
__While drowning in a river of denial.  
__I washed up, fixed up, picked up,  
__All my broken things._

Melody sat down on the floor and just stared up at the ceiling. The floor creeked under me and her head snapped towards my direction.

_'Cause you left me,  
__Police scene, chalk line,  
__Tequila shots,  
__In the dark scene of the crime.  
__Suburban living with a feeling,  
__That I'm giving up,  
__Everything for you (for you)._

"Um...morning!" I greeted her as I got up and walked towards her.

"Hey, how long have you been there?" she asked me casually from the ground.

_Oh, oh, oh!  
__How was I supposed to know,  
__That you were oh, oh, over me?  
__I think that I should go. (go!)  
__Something's telling me to leave,  
__But I won't,  
__'Cause I'm damned_ _if I do ya,  
__Damned if I don't._

"A few minutes. You wake pretty early huh?"

"Not really, I usually sleep until noon but I couldn't sleep yesterday," she replied as she lied down on the ground and closed her eyes. I sat down beside her and just stared at her.

_It took a lot to take you home.  
__One stupid call,  
__And I end up alone.  
__You made up, dressed up, messed up,  
__Plans I set in stone._

"Say, why were you frozen when you came back from the club yesterday? You looked like you saw a ghost," I started. Mel opened one eye and studied me.

_And you may be too,  
__But I don't like dancing in the alley,  
__With a street rat night life.  
__Can't keep living with a feeling,  
__That I'm giving up,  
__Everything for you (for you)._

"I met someone I used to know in the club," she replied calmly and closed her eye again. "I never thought I would see him again."

"Oh," I said disappointedly. I knew she only gave me a vague answer, but it seemed like she wasn't ready to tell me yet. I pouted a bit while the music kept playing.

_Oh, oh, oh!  
__How was I supposed to know,  
__That you were oh, oh, over me?  
__I think that I should go. (go!)  
__Something's telling me to leave,  
__But I won't,  
__'Cause I'm damned if I do ya,  
__Damned if I don't._

There was silence between us, until I couldn't take it anymore. "Hey, want to train?"

_Make a fool of myself,  
__When you hang around,  
__When you're gone.  
__I'm a match that's burning out.  
__Could've been, should've done.  
__What I said I was going to,  
__(Said that I was going to)  
__But I never promised you,  
__(But I never promised you)  
__Promised you, promised you._

"Sure," Mel got up and stretched her arms. "Let's get started." Five seconds passed and I was still sitting on the ground while she frowned in confusion.

_Oh, oh, oh!  
__How was I supposed to know,  
__That you were oh, oh, over me?  
__I think that I should go. (go!)  
__Something's telling me to leave,  
__But I won't,  
__'Cause I'm damned if I do ya,  
__Damned if I don't._

"We're not training here," I told her while I got up myself and grinned at her.

"Then where are we going to train?" she asked. My grin widened as I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, not bothering to turn off her iPod.

_Oh, oh, oh!  
__('Cause you left me)  
__How was I supposed to know,  
__(Police scene, chalk line)  
__That you were oh, oh, over me?  
__(Tequila shots in the dark scene of the crime)  
__I think that I should go.  
__Something's telling me to leave,  
__But I won't,  
__'Cause I'm damned if I do ya,  
__Damned if I do,  
__Damned if I do ya,  
__Damned if I don't._

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**Me: **Well, that's chapter 2 for ya! Hope you liked it!

Songs used: Fancy Footwork by Chromeo & Damned if I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't) by All Time Low

REVIEW PLEASE!


	3. Training

**Me:** I'm soo sorry for the long wait and such a short chapter but! I now have time to write more so yeah. Look forward to the next chapter in December!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for my own characters and the plot. Sad, but true.

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**Narrator's P.O.V.**

The curly-haired kid led the brunette to the rooftop of the warehouse.

"_This_," Melody gestured to the rooftop, "is where you train?!" She gave him a look of shock and horror after she had scanned over the whole place.

"Yup," Moose answered and walked towards the center of the rooftop.

"Isn't this dangerous?" she asked as she looked over the edge. Melody gulped. "I would _not_ want to fall off from here."

"It's fine," Moose answered. "At least I don't think you're stupid enough to fall off the edge," he added with a shrug.

The girl's eyebrow twitched. "That makes it so much better when you put it that way," Mel grumbled and ran her hand through her curly, brown hair. She tied it up with a hair elastic and stretched her arms.

Moose watched patiently as she got herself ready. "Good to go?"

Melody nodded in response. "So what now?"

Moose grinned. "Follow me," he replied and sped off. Melody followed closely behind him and they used everything on the rooftop as a sort of training tool. They would climb the walls and do flips and simply ran and trained their flexibility. The two trained until sundown.

"Well, that was tiring and refreshing at the same time," Melody managed to say while panting and lying on the floor. She stared at the rainbow coloured sky and tried to catch her breath. Moose sat down beside her and blew his hair out of his face.

"I'm so hungry right now," he cried and fell back onto the floor.

"Same here," Mel wheezed out.

"Let's go back," Moose said after staring at the sky with Melody for a few minutes.

"Good idea," the girl said as she stood up and dusted her pants. "Last one in gets the loser's dessert," she cried and ran towards the stairs.

"Not fair!" Moose cried and raced after her. The two raced each other, skipping steps, jumping over one another and pushing past each other. They headed back into the warehouse and burst through the door. The Pirates were startled when they opened the door with a bang. The crew turned their heads to see Moose and Melody at the doorway.

Luke walked up to them and was about to say something when they completely ignored him and ran past him to get to the kitchen. Luke closed his mouth, turned around and said, "I'm not even going to ask." And with that, he went back to what he was doing.

In the kitchen, Natalie and the Santiago twins were busy preparing dinner. Well, more like Natalie was hard at work while the twins were watching and occasionally stealing some food. Natalie was about to kick them out when the kitchen door was thrown open and standing there was a tired and sweaty Melody. The twins opened their mouths and were about to ask what happened when Moose came running from behind the girl and tackled her to the ground. He rolled off of her panting, trying to catch his breath while the brunette beside him did the same thing.

"I…win…" Melody wheezed out with a tired grin. Moose ignored her and continued lying on the floor.

"Um…what's going on?" Natalie piped up and looked down at the two on the floor.

Melody sat up and tightened her ponytail. "We were having a race. Winner gets the loser's dessert."

"Oh…that makes sense now," one of the Santiago twins said and pulled Melody off of the floor.

"So what's for dessert?" she asked with a cheeky grin and threw her arms around the twins.

"Ice cream!" the twins shouted with big smiles.

"Yes!" Melody cheered and pumped her fist up in the air. "I'm so glad I won now."

"Oh pu-lease! I like totally went easy on you," Moose said in a high-pitched voice.

"If you went easy on me, you wouldn't be panting like you just ran a marathon, now would you?" the girl retorted with a smirk on her face.

"Shut up," Moose cried as he covered his face with his hands. _Maybe that wasn't such a good comeback_, he thought to himself and shook his head. "I swear she has a comeback for everything!" he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" The said girl's head suddenly popped into his field of vision.

"Nothing," he said with his face flushed. The girl raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She merely gave him a look before going off and hanging out with Luke, who was putting together a video once again. After a few minutes, the crew was all called to the dining table for dinner.

"So what were you guys doing today?" Luke asked as he looked over to Moose and Melody, who were busy stuffing their faces with food.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really are a girl or not," the twins said in unison while shaking their heads at Melody.

She swallowed her food before talking. "What? I'd rather be a tomboy than a girly girl, if I do say so myself," she defended herself before going back to eating.

"I guess that's true," they replied. "But we never said anything against you being the way you are."

"I know, I know, just putting that out there."

"Is there a reason why you're not a girly girl?" Moose asked with food still in his mouth.

"Finish eating before you talk, Moose," the brunette said and the boy quickly swallowed his food.

"I was practically raised by guys. I lived with my brother and my cousins, who are all guys by the way, lived just right across the street. So yeah."

"Wait, what about your parents?" Moose asked but he was quickly hit on the head by the twins.

"So why are you called 'Moose'?" the girl asked, completely ignoring his question.

Moose grinned. "I think the question is: why not?"

"Touché," she replied with her hands up as if she was surrendering.

"Melody, can we talk to you later?" the twins asked in unison with a serious face.

The smile dropped from Mel's face. The twins never call her Melody unless it was a serious matter. "Alright," she answered and quickly finished her dinner and excused herself from the table.

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**Me:** CLIFFHANGER! You guys must hate me now, but this is my job as a writer. Please review and tell me what you think!


	4. Stalling

**Me:** SOO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I was so busy with homework and school that I didn't have time to do anything with my stories. But that problem's gonna be solved since school ends in 2 days so yay!

**Disclaimer:** ArtsyNinja3 does not own anything except for her own characters and the plot

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**Narrator's P.O.V.**

The brunette walked outside to take a breather and waited for the twins to come find her. She looked up at the multi-coloured sky and sighed. Her mind was filled with thoughts about her situation. She leaned back on a brick wall and decided to sit down on the ground. She sat down with her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

"I seriously didn't expect them to find out so quickly," she whispered to herself. She thought about how she was going to break the news to them. Would they still be there for her? Or would they leave her, just like everyone else did. "No, I can't think like that. The twins are my best friends. They would never hurt me," she convinced herself. Then she laughed. "I must be going crazy, talking to myself."

"Mel," someone called her from behind. The said girl turned around to see the twins standing next to each other with a serious face. They looked around before giving each other a look and nodded at one another. They knelt in front of her and grabbed her hands.

"Let's go," the other said. Melody frowned and was about ask when she spotted a few heads just around the corner.

"Ahh, alright," she said and gave the twins a look. They nodded simultaneously and Melody held up her hand. "5…4…3…2…" she started mouthing the numbers and counting down her fingers. "1!" she shouted and they all sprinted off in different directions.

* * *

"Huh? Wha?" Moose said as he saw the three friends sprint off in different directions.

"What just happened?" Natalie asked.

Luke was standing with them, shaking his head. "Why are we even here?"

His girlfriend and his best friend turned their heads over their shoulders, "Aren't you at least a slightly bit curious?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Not really. I mean, it's not really my business." The two gave him a shocked look before heading back inside. To be honest though, Luke was actually very curious, but felt like it was not his place to butt into their conversation. It was the first time he had seen the Santiago twins so serious. Of course he would be curious. _They'll tell me when they want to,_ he thought to himself before heading back in to look for his girlfriend.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

The Santiago twins and Melody met up at Central Park after five minutes of running around.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't follow us," the girl said and sat down on a park bench. "So what is it?"

"Why did you run away?" the twins asked as they sat down beside her.

"Wha-what are you t-talking about?" Melody stuttered, caught off guard by their question.

"Don't bother denying it. We know. We always know," one of them said. Melody looked down at her hands that rested on her lap. She wondered how they found out. She knew they would find out eventually, since they were like psychics or something close to that. The twins would always know when she's up to something. It had always been like that, ever since they met. She sighed while the twins waited patiently for her to speak.

_Five minutes later…_

"So…are you going to tell us anything?" one of the boys asked while the other hit him lightly on the head.

"Shut up. We have to give her some time to compose herself," he said and looked over to Melody who was sitting on the bench. "We're ready when you are." Melody smiled gratefully at him.

_Ten minutes later…_

"Seriously, we're not going to be here all day."

Their friend was still sitting on the bench, looking at her hands.

"Didn't you just say that we have to 'give her some time to compose herself'?" his brother told him with a smirk. He sighed and composed himself.

_Fifteen minutes later…_

"Anytime now…" they said as they ate the ice cream that they bought. They waited for a few seconds to see if the girl would tell them anything before they exploded.

"Oh just frickin' speak already!" they both yelled, which caused heads to turn in their direction.

Melody jumped a bit, startled by their outburst. She looked uneasy and kept glancing around before she finally said, "I ran away from home."

"No. Shit. We already knew that, like, an hour ago!" one shouted at her, feeling very pissed off.

"Quit stalling!" the other said. "We're not letting you go until you tell us."

Melody sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. But you're gonna have to promise you won't tell anyone," she said and gave them a look.

"We promise!" they chorused, but Melody wasn't convinced.

She held out her pinkies and said, "Pinky swear?"

The twins chuckled at her childishness. "Pinky swear," and they linked their pinkies with hers.

"It all started a few months ago…"

Silence engulfed them.

"Are you going to tell us what actually happened?" the twins asked after quite some time.

"Oh right. Sorry. Um…it was around the time when I got a new boyfriend..." she finally said. Her story was soon interrupted though.

"You got a WHAT?!"

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Sorry."

She opened her mouth to say more, but was later tackled to the ground by someone. "What the f-"

"MELODY!" the person yelled.

"Get off of me Moose." He did as the girl told him to and stood up. "What are you doing here?" she asked from her position on the ground.

"I was looking for you! You promised that you'd train with me today at eight! It's already eight!" Moose said and pulled the girl to her feet.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Melody apologized. "I totally forgot!" She gave the twins an apologetic look and was about to leave with Moose when they grabbed her wrists and pulled her back.

"Tell us later back in the warehouse," they whispered in her ears. She nodded and they released her and let her go back with Moose.

_Just what is going on?!_ Moose thought to himself as he glanced over at his companion.

* * *

**Me:** There you have it! Sorry it's a bit short but it's the best I can do for now.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	5. Secrets Revealed

_*Recap*_

"_I ran away from home."_

"_No. Shit. We already knew that, like, an hour ago!_

"_It all started a few months ago…"_

"_Are you going to tell us what actually happened?" the twins asked after quite some time. _

"_Oh right. Sorry. Um…it was around the time when I got a new boyfriend..." she finally said._

"_You got a WHAT?!"_

"_Do you want to hear the story or not?"_

"_Sorry."_

"_MELODY!" the person yelled._

"_Get off of me Moose." He did as the girl told him to and stood up. "What are you doing here?" she asked from her position on the ground._

"_I was looking for you! You promised that you'd train with me today at eight! It's already eight!" Moose said and pulled the girl to her feet._

"_Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Melody apologized. "I totally forgot!" She gave the twins an apologetic look and was about to leave with Moose when they grabbed her wrists and pulled her back._

"_Tell us later back in the warehouse," they whispered in her ears. She nodded and they released her and let her go back with Moose._

_*End of Recap*_

* * *

**Narrator's P.O.V.**

Melody sighed of relief, happy that she didn't get the chance to tell the twins what they wanted to know. She wasn't ready to tell them. They left her when they were still grade six. They didn't know what happened after that. She absentmindedly danced with Moose back in the warehouse. Moose turned to look at the brunette. He could tell she was not focused by the way she was dancing. It was as if someone is controlling her like a puppet. He frowned. The curly-haired kid was worried, but he knew that he is in no position to ask.

"Hey," he called.

"Yeah?" she answered, still dancing to the song.

"Um…" he searched for a topic but couldn't find anything to talk about. Awkward silence followed while the brunette waited for him to finish his sentence. "…Wanna go get some ice cream after this?"

Mel stopped dancing and stared at him like he was crazy. "Ice cream at ten o'clock at night?"

Moose realized how stupid that question was. "Oh! I mean, if you don't want t-"

"I'm totally up for it!" she cheered and grabbed her leather jacket. "It is never too late for ice cream," she said as she put her jacket on. Moose grinned. There really was no girl like her. We walked down the streets to the ice cream store.

"Can I have a triple chocolate ice cream, please?" Melody asked the worker nicely.

The worker smiled. "Of course you can. Anything else?"

"I'll have a mint chocolate chip," Moose said.

"Sure thing." They got their ice cream and took a seat at a table.

"So tell me something about yourself," Melody said as she ate her ice cream.

"Like what?" Moose asked.

"Hobbies, interests, future plans, doesn't matter."

"Um…alright. I'm currently single and I like to go on long walks on the beach," Moose said with a teasing smile. Melody burst out in laughter.

"No but seriously," she said after calming down, "What do you do in your spare time?"

"Well, I dance."

"Is that seriously all you do?"

"Well, sorta. What do you do?"

"I dance," Moose snorted at that. "And I also draw and play instruments."

"Oh really? What do you play?"

"Guitar, drums, flute and piano," the brunette replied.

"Wow."

"Yeah, my mom and dad used to make me learn a lot of instruments." Moose noticed how her eyes saddened when she mentioned her parents, but it quickly disappeared.

"Do you get along with your parents?" Moose asked carefully.

There was silence before Melody opened her mouth to speak. "I used to, but that all changed a few years ago."

Moose gulped. "What happened?"

"My mother passed away." A heavy atmosphere surrounded them. "She passed away four years ago when I was seventeen. My dad then remarried someone else a few months later. It was like he didn't miss her at all. Like his love for my mom disappeared when she died. The woman he married already has kids of her own and they all moved in with us. At first, it was alright. She was nice to my siblings and I."

Moose listened quietly and reached forward to hold her hand that rested on the table. He gave it a light squeeze.

"That soon changed when I noticed how my dad wouldn't look at me anymore. He stopped paying attention to us and paid more attention to my stepsiblings. That woman's attitude changed too. She would make us do things for her kids, even though her kids are perfectly capable of doing them themselves. She stopped cooking for my brother, sister and me. She would only cook for my dad and her kids. And the worst part was that my dad didn't say anything. He knew what was going on, but he didn't say anything."

Silent tears slid down her face. She quickly wiped them away.

"After a year, I couldn't take it anymore. My brother had gone to university, while my sister got sent to my auntie's house. I was all alone in the house that I could no longer call 'home'. I didn't belong there. And so I ran away."

"You ran away?" Moose repeated.

"I ran away. I was saving money since my mom passed away. I had part-time jobs so I had enough money to afford a plane ticket. And so I flew here, to New York."

"Why New York?" Moose asked.

"Because I heard that my cousin was living here so I was planning to look for him. And also I knew the Santiago twins were here. I'm planning on getting a job to buy an apartment. Then I'll go get my sister and we can live together here in New York." The tears had already stopped, but her eyes were still watery.

"How long has it been since you saw your siblings?" Moose asked.

"It's been exactly three years now," she replied. Moose hugged the girl.

"I'll help you. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Thank you," Melody whispered and hugged the boy back.

* * *

**Me:** I'M SOOO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I hope you can forgive me! I was so busy with projects and school that I didn't have time to sit down and write. But my projects are almost done so I can probably start updating according to schedule. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	6. ON HIATUS

I'M SOOO SORRY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT UPDATE. I've been having a horrible case of writer's block. I had no inspiration at all so I decided that instead of thinking hard and making my brain hurt, I will leave this story until inspiration hits. I'm really sorry. I don't really want to stop writing this either but I think I just need a little time off. I promise I will pick it up again later this year. Maybe in the summer. It would help a lot if you guys give me some ideas. That would be very helpful. I'm truly sorry. Well, until next time! ArtsyNinja signing out~! Peace.


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